Connected Forever
by Tigercry
Summary: Yukari dies healing Minato but in a plea to Igor to somehow get her back Minato and Yukari are connected and Yukari miraculously survives. Can they learn to cope with it and Yukari's unique persona issue while stopping the dark hour? Or will they and the rest of S.E.E.S fail miserably?
1. The Beginning of Something Huge

' _ **Bold and Italics' = Mental link communication**_

' _Italics' = normal thoughts_

 _~Squiggly and Italics~ = Fuuka and others communicating through her persona's telepathic abilities_

"Normal" = Normal talking

" **Bold" = Mitsuru and others through her persona's telepathic skills**

"Underline" = Shadow's speaking

* * *

A blue haired boy was sitting on a monorail, looking absently out the window with his headphones plugged into his ears, the music could be heard a few feet away from him. ' _Nearly Midnight. Coffin Hour starts soon.'_ He thought briefly as the monorail slowed to a gentle stop and he stood up. ' _At least I won't be stuck on this cursed train again.'_ Stepping off the train he pulled out the pamphlet of a map he had gotten earlier and scanned it before starting towards the dorm he would be staying at.

* * *

' _I can do this.'_ Yukari Takeba wrestled with her fear, struggling to overcome the dread that always came with the use of her Evoker. She was kneeling on the ground in her bathroom, her breathing heavy and panicked, holding her silver Evoker against her forehead. The sink was running in the background, creating noise she hoped would soften the sound of using the weapon. ' _Come on… Come on!'_

* * *

Passing many people along the streets Minato's thoughts strayed to one of the things he could remember from his childhood besides the glimpses from the car crash. He couldn't remember the girl's name or what she looked like but he knew she was his age and had bright brown eyes. Shutting down any chances of remembering bad memories he quickly discarded the thought as he looked up at the large clock on the front of one of the buildings. ' _Eleven fifty-five. Five more minutes till everyone turns into a coffin.'_

* * *

Yukari was still struggling, holding the cool silver weapon with both hands, struggling to push the trigger all the way. Her hesitation was born from what she saw every time she used the weapon; silver eyes and blue hair always haunted her, every time she pulled the trigger she saw the boy with silver eyes and blue hair die before her eyes, every time without fail. Her thumb pushed the trigger a fraction farther, the arms now shaking as she squeezed her eyes shut, her jaw clenching.

* * *

Minato was nearing the building he needed to go to, feeling a sense of foreboding in his gut that made him weary of the place.

* * *

The Evoker slipped through Yukari's fingers as she gave up, unable to push past her fear of seeing the boy die again. Her body trembled from head to toe, short brown hair hiding her eyes as she leaned forward clasping her hands together on her knees and breathing a shuddery breath, brown eyes still firmly shut.

* * *

Minato's MP3 player shut off as did all the lights everywhere he could see, the moon going green and the dark sky tinted with the same putrid color. It was silent along the streets, black coffins hovering inches above the ground everywhere, along the sidewalk, propped up on benches, even inside non-moving cars. He showed no reaction even as he pulled open the door to his destination and stepped in.

The first thing he saw was a boy wearing white and black striped clothes, with dark colored hair and eerily bright blue eyes; standing next to a reception desk where a closed red leather folder rested next to a quill and a bottle of ink.

"Hello, sign this form." The boy said in a voice that could've fit in well in a horror movie. Minato glanced at the boy before looking at the form wearily, not convinced this was a good place.

"Just the usual stuff, that you take full responsibility for your actions and all that." The boy said in his mysterious and creepy voice.

* * *

Yukari's head jerked up as she heard voices downstairs. ' _Everyone's asleep or in the command room… There's an intruder!'_ Scrambling to her feet she scooped up the silver Evoker pushing it into a holster and clipping the restraint clip into place. Before starting to hurry down the stairs, fear weighing heavily in her stomach.

* * *

Minato carefully signed the paper clipped to the folder and the boy took the folder, closed it and it vanished.

"Time is something we can't escape nor control, try as we might life moves forward… Don't dwell on your past and miss all the things around you." The boy then vanished as Minato heard hurried footsteps at the stairwell. Looking up he was met with the sight of a short brown haired girl, her fringe swept to one side revealing milky brown eyes slightly narrowed at him. She was petite, being maybe only five feet four inches tall and dressed in what looked like a modified school uniform; white button up blouse under a pink cardigan with a black mini skirt and what looked like a white heart shaped choker around her neck.

"W-who're you?!" She asked with a worried tone. They stared at each other for a few moments before Minato's eyes widened at the sight of her fingertips brushing a tan colored holster where a silver gun was nestled.

"What's the gun for?" He asked with a blank face, hiding his nervousness. She didn't reply, instead she narrowed her eyes farther and her breathing started to go haggard as if she was bracing herself to do something she didn't like doing. Just as the girl was quickly pulling the silver gun out a shout stopped them her in her tracks.  
"Takeba Stop!" The girl evidently with the name Takeba stopped with the gun half raised and turned farther up the staircase. Minato followed her gaze and saw a pretty red haired girl standing there, a calm expression on her fair skinned face, her eyes matched her hair, red like rubies. She was also dressed in a modified school uniform, long sleeve white button down blouse tucked into a knee-length black skirt with high heeled boots and a red ribbon tie.

"Mitsuru-senpai!" Takeba said in a confused tone, watching the redhead as she walked down the stairs towards them as the lights flickered back on along with Minato's MP3 player.

"We weren't expecting you so late." The redhead Mitsuru said, ignoring Takeba's silent question.

"The train got held up," Minato responded carefully, wary of the girl with the gun.

"Ah, well Minato Arisato, meet Yukari Takeba." Muttering a greeting Minato started towards the stairs, watching Yukari with the gun. "Takeba, take him up to his room and make sure he doesn't have any questions."

"Yes, Senpai. It's nice to meet you Arisato-san." She tucked the gun away and led the way up the stairs to the third floor. "This is your room, any questions?" Since he didn't get an answer about the gun thing earlier he didn't bother to ask again, instead he shook his head and went into his room, missing the curious look Yukari was giving him.

* * *

The next few days were uneventful, it wasn't until the third night he was there when everything wasn't a secret anymore.

"Why are we waiting like this Chairman?" Mitsuru asked. They were in the command room watching the radar for shadows and watching Yukari and Aristato in their separate rooms.

"Because it's time for Yukari to show us she can fulfill an assignment."

"But this is essentially suicide!" Akihiko yelped in shock.

"If it gets that far you will stop it-"

"Look." Mitsuru interrupted, pointing to the large shadow that nearly skewered the poor archer through a window. Falling backward off her bed Yukari scrambled to her feet, scooping up her Evoker and racing to Minato's room, knocking urgently on the door before barging in and hauling the previously sleeping boy up to his feet and running up the stairs towards the command room.

"Lock the door." the chairman said, and Mitsuru obeyed locking it and blocking off the easiest way out. Yukari tried the knob and let out a curse before mumbling an apology and running farther up the stairs, pulling Minato down as a sword went through the window. The shadow squeezed itself through the hole in the window and Yukari let out a yell and promptly did a maneuver nobody thought she'd do. Rather than using her Evoker and summoning Io she ran towards the shadow and pushing herself off the ground with a handspring the archer kicked the shadow in the mask, the force strong enough to knock it back out the window, shattering the rest of it and propelling herself out the window. Grabbing hold of the ledge she shouted to Minato to run up to the roof and she'd meet him there. After hesitating briefly the boy obeyed, running up the stairs towards the roof.

"She's doing a better job than we thought she'd do." the Chairman said coolly as they watched the PJs clothed teen painfully hauled herself back up through the window and start running up to the roof.

"Maybe you underestimated her chairman," Mitsuru said with a bit of pride coloring her tone.

"Perhaps," he replied as they watched the confrontation on the roof. Minato was looking open mouthed at the shadow, at a loss of what to do. Yukari came running from the stairway before she body blocked a sword slash which sending her flying to the edge of the rooftop, her Evoker skidding to a stop next to Minato. He looked down at the silver weapon at his feet before glancing at Yukari who was sitting up and limping back over to him, the left side of her leg was cut open from the Shadow's sword. After she blocked another blow for Minato was thrown into a wall the shadow shifted it's attention to her, skittering over to where she was and raising its weapons. Yukari coughed, fear glinting in her brown eyes behind a mask of calmness. Something in Minato snapped.

* * *

 _ **Authors Note: So I bet you've all noticed that Yukari's different than she is in the game. There is a reason for that and I'll upload a chapter called "Yukari's Modifications" She is a bit different, a bit braver and focused on her assignment. There's a reason for that but you'll have to wait till I upload that chapter**_


	2. Hospital Visit, Yukari's modifications

_**'Bold and Italics'**_ = Mental link communication

' _Italics_ ' = normal thoughts

~ _Squiggly and Italics_ ~ = Fuuka and others communicating through her persona's telepathic abilities

"Normal" = Normal talking

" **Bold** " = Mitsuru and others through her persona's telepathic skills

"Underline" = Shadows speaking

* * *

 _ **I was honestly shocked when I saw that 90 ish people viewed or read this story!**_

 _ **Shout out to Severa035, Ruthrix, and all the other people who've followed, favorited, read, and or viewed Connected Forever! :) It means a lot to me :) Onto the chapter!**_

* * *

Something stirred deep in Minato's soul, filling him with power. Scooping up the evoker he raised it to be pressed against his temple, uttering a word he never heard before. "Per-so-na." Then he pulled the trigger. Emerging from his skull were blue shards, the shards swirling up in a tornado fashion, creating a mostly white robot about fifty feet tall with a blue torso, red scarf, blonde hair like stuff on his head and a large white lyre held in one hand. The large persona attacked the shadow who scrambled back trying to avoid it. After brief fight fire licked its fiery tongues all over the roof around Yukari and Minato, Yukari was sitting up leaning back against her arms, looking astonished at Minato who keeled forward and passed out.

Mitsuru and Akihiko stared at the screen in shock and pride while the chairman was grinning at the screen showing the two upcoming juniors. Yukari's strength failed her and she also passed out, lying on her back rather than her stomach, unlike Minato.

* * *

 _(Minato's View)_

I could smell antiseptic and the smell only associated with doctors. I was at a hospital. Just perfect. Opening my eyes to the brightly lit room I was in my vision was blurry and it felt like each of my muscles were locked in place so I was stiff as a board.

"You're awake!" A worried voice broke through my fuzzy mind and my attention shifted to the person making the noise, I blinked a few times before Yukari Takeba came into view, smiling with relief, a bandage taped to her left cheek. "You've been out for a whole week! Jeez, how much sleep do you need!"

'I've been asleep for a week?' I forced myself up into a sitting position, leaning back against the headboard. Sleeping for that long wasn't a good thing no wonder I'm in the hospital.

"Don't worry, it's normal to be out for a while after the first time your persona is summoned, I was out for nearly two months after my own persona was first summoned." Yukari smiled reassuringly at me, somehow guessing the source of my confusion and worry despite my blank face. "You'll be wanting an explanation right?" At my nod, she continued with a wry smile, "Mitsuru-senpai will explain everything in finer detail when you get back but I can tell you is a black creature is what we call a shadow and the time period when everyone is in coffins is what we call the dark hour. Shadow's can be essentially any size and shape but their masks tell us what their weaknesses are, blue for ice, orange, and yellow for fire, etc. The Shadows are from the accident a few years ago.

The high school turns into a shadow's nest we call Tartarus at midnight when the dark hour starts, normal people don't know about the dark hour and have no clue it even exists, they wake up from their coffins and resume their normal lives. Personas are essentially beings from the depths of our souls, quite confusing if you ask me, " The smile dropped off her face as her eyebrows furrowed slightly, "Sorry about not being able to protect you."

I quickly absorbed the information that didn't really surprise me and I responded to her comment. "You did a good job protecting me." I mentally took note of the raspiness of my voice, "You didn't run from the shadow, without you I'd probably be the shadow's kabob." That comment elicited a short laugh from her before she smiled revealing perfectly straight white teeth,

"Thanks for cheering me up. I should go though, give yourself a chance to adjust Minato, we only want what best for you and we want to be your friends." before getting up and coming back to the dorm." She stood up and walked to the door, putting her hand on the knob before speaking in an almost timid tone, "I'm sorry about your family, my father died in the accident that happened near the school years ago, around the same time yours did." She then disappeared.

Giving me many things to think about; the whole persona thing, the fact someone could relate to me, and understand what I'm going through, and that if I wanted I could have a bunch of friends. Putting my head back down on the pillow -the soft cotton making it so my head sink- I decided to take Yukari's advice and give myself a chance to adjust, even if that meant I'd have to put up with the annoying roommates I had. I couldn't help but wonder why Yukari seemed so familiar, her personality was unusual but it was her features that were so familiar. But why?

As far as I knew I didn't have any friends as a child beside a girl with brown eyes that helped me out of my parents' crashed car the night the rest of my family died. But she wasn't really a friend I having only met her once. She was more like a person I had to debt to pay; and that was one debt I wasn't going to cast away, I was determined to find her and repay my debt. But maybe she was closer than I thought she was.

( _Normal_ )

* * *

Shuji Ikutsuki the chairman of S.E.E.S was watching the hospital feed on Minato's room, watching the entire conversation between the two with a sick twisted grin on his face. 'My plan will adapt to these new changes, but perhaps this new boy will help speed things up a bit.' He looked over at slightly larger t.v sized computer monitor which was displaying the happenings of the S.E.E.S dorm, projecting what each student was doing. Another monitor was a large monitor nearly six feet long and ten feet long displayed a detailed map with a variety small blinking dots, color coded to their persona arcanas. 'The fall will come to past and clean the world of these sickly weak people. I will bring justice to the world and finish what the Kijiro family started and rule the world!'

* * *

 _ **AN: Here's the description and stuff I promised**_

Yukari Takeba-light brown shoulder length hair with bangs swept to the right, _stopping only about half an inch above her right eye, she has bright milky brown_ eyes _and a small button nose. She has a small petite build, slender and a bit short. She always has a white choker with a white heart on the right side around her neck, a symbol that her persona is from the Lovers Arcana._  
 _Normal Clothes: Yukari wears a normal Gekkoukan High uniform with a slight twist. Normal white short sleeve button up blouse, red ribbon tie, and black mini skirt with black knee high socks, brown loafers, and a pink cardigan, usually on but during the spring months or when the weather is really warm then it's tied around her waist._  
 _Summer Clothes: During the summer or when it's warm and there's no school Yukari wears a pink tank top with light red cherry blossom designs, bootcut light blue denim pants, and white 2inch heeled sandals. When around the dorm she ditches the sandals for white and pink striped socks._  
 _Pjs: Yukari's warm weather_ pj's _are similar to her summer clothes; A plain light pink tank top, white shorts, and pink fuzzy socks if she chooses to even wear socks. (Which isn't very often) During the colder_ months _, Yukari wears a pink cow style kigurumi, only when she's alone and never to sleep, overheating rather quickly. When not wearing her kigurumi Yukari wears light pink_ sweatpants _, pink fuzzy_ socks _, and a light pink short-sleeve._  
 _Formal Clothing/ Yukata, kimono, dress: Yukari's yukata is a pink cotton candy color with_ orange-ish _red flowers and brownish purple vines winding themselves up throughout the entire thing._  
 _Special facts: It physically hurts Yukari to summon her persona with her silver_ evoker _. She believes in love but always thought she'd never have the chance to experience it. She knew Minato as a young child before she moved after her father died. Yukari's choker was a gift from Mitsuru and Akihiko once they found out about her persona. Yukari's afraid of death because she knows she wouldn't survive if another person she loves dies. Yukari's actually very insecure and that's why she gets jealous so easily and gets really upset when Minato chooses another girl over her._  
 _Quirks: Yukari's very_ sharp-sighted _and very sensitive to light. She has a short temper and acts impulsively when angry. She's a moderately light sleeper and sleeps almost completely underneath the blankets to avoid any light and noises. Her senses are fine tuned and remarkably sharp, sharp enough sometimes she ignores things meaning it's quite easy to scare her. She also believes in ghosts and is scared to death_ of _them._

 _Yukari grew up knowing about the shadows and their unusual powers. After she turned six her father died in the accident that unleashed the shadows, she was devastated. On the way back to her house with her mom the dark hour was revealed to her, scarring her for life but it also saved Minato's life. Yukari's mom turned into a coffin but she didn't; Minato's car crashed into the railing on Moonway Bridge at that moment, the railing bending and buckling under the car's velocity. Yukari saw it and saw the_ blue-haired _boy in the backseat. She went over to the car and managed to pull the boy out, looking at him worriedly. He managed to catch sight of her face but when Minato woke up again she was gone, back in her mother's car on the way back once the dark hour stopped._

 _Isuko(Yukari's Mother) started dating lots of men, trying to make up for the missing father figure in Yukari's life, but she only made the situation worse. It got bad enough that Yukari ran away at seven to live with Mitsuru Kijiro and Akihiko Sanada, the two people her father had introduced her to. Akihiko treated her like his little sister for years, Mitsuru helping out and visiting often. They were a closely knit group, the older children caring for the younger girl. When Yukari was nine years old Mitsuru and Akihiko found out she knew about the dark hour(She called it Creepy Time) and introduced the evoker to her, after panicking thinking they were going to shoot her for her father's mistake she told them someone named Io wanted her to learn to shoot a bow and accepted the evoker, never using it._

 _A year later Yukari dragged Mitsuru and Akihiko through the streets after she heard a noise of some sorts, arriving on the scene they found what she'd been hearing a few miles away. Shinji_ Agaraki _was struggling to contain an out of control persona, Mike Amada was dead, Mica and Ken(Just a baby) were huddled in a corner of the alley. Yukari's persona emerged without the use of an evoker and destroyed Shinji's persona, locking it away for several years. She passed out for two months and everyone was scrambling to figure out why she summoned her persona without an evoker._

 _When she was twelve she started high school at_ Gekokan _Highschool, when she just turned fifteen she used her evoker for the first time with drastic consequences. When she pulled the trigger of her evoker she collapsed on the ground screaming and convulsing. When the evoker went off Yukari saw a flash of bright light then saw scenes of Mitsuru and Akihiko dying in multiple ways, but she also saw a blue haired_ silver-eyed _boy die and it felt like her heart was being ripped out. She was sedated for three days before they could finally create something that blocked the images temporarily and essentially she's a ticking time bomb, nobody knows when it's going to wear off. This last year Yukari's persona was furious and tried to kill her, with a lot of pleading, violence, and multiple promises Io retreated back into Yukari and obeyed her when she summoned her with the evoker. Mitsuru believes that the evoker is the cause of Io's rebellion, she believes that Yukari's reaction to the evoker made Io repulsed by it and she was furious because Yukari kept using it despite the depressing and scary images she saw every time._

* * *

 _ **There you go, that's Yukari's modified stuff.**_ ** _Have fu_** _ **n everyone!**_

 **Questions For Cookies:**

 _Minato saw a girl the night his parents died, who is she?_

 _How old was Yukari when she summoned Io for the first time?_


	3. Junpei the New Persona Guy

' _ **Bold and Italics' = Mental link communication**_

' _Italics' = normal thoughts_

 _~Squiggly and Italics~ = Fuuka and others communicating through her persona's telepathic abilities_

"Normal" = Normal talking

" **Bold" = Mitsuru and others through her persona's telepathic skills**

"Underline" = Shadow's speaking

Junpei the New Persona Guy

 _ **IMPORTANT: I edited last chapter so Yukari explains to him what Tartarus is and about the whole normal humans not knowing about the dark hour thing! Please make sure you re-read that part of the chapter! It's important and it makes sure the story makes sense!**_

 _AN: Thank you again to all those who Favorited, viewed, and or read this story! I do have an outline for the important events, this story might seem a bit fast paced at first but it'll slow down a little bit once the bond is formed which is within the next seven chapters. Also Note: Kenji and Chihiro are both persona users in this story and will be introduced as their time comes. Now Onward!_

Answers:

 _Yukari is the girl he saw that night after she pulled him out the car and before he blacked out._

 _She was ten years old when she first summoned Io._

After making my decision I showed up at school the next day, much to Yukari and Mitsuru's delight. One of the guys I met when I first started was Junpei Iori, he was a baseball loving fiend with a perverted attitude and one of my sources of entertainment when around Yukari; I'm still mildly surprised Yukari hasn't killed him yet with all the perverted comments and assuming everything, the first time I met him went like this

 _I sat down in the desk I'd been assigned to -privately hoping to get some sleep during class- when a navy clad boy with a baseball cap came over and introduced himself, "Hey! I'm Junpei Iori, you're the new kid everyone's talking about huh?" I didn't bother to reply, not particularly in the mood to be mindlessly chatting. He kept going on about all the pretty girls and all the crazy students when thankfully he was interrupted by a voice I was becoming accustomed to._

" _Really Stupei? Talking to anyone who will listen to you I see." Yukari Takeba said, she was the girl who'd been carrying a silver gun last night when I was introduced to the dorm. "Did you ever stop to think you're bothering them?" She turned to me, "Kinda weird how we're in the same class Arisato." I nodded, finding too much fun in Junpei's annoyed expression, I was waiting for it to burst, and I wasn't disappointed._

" _Stop calling me Stupei! And I wasn't bothering him I was introducing myself! I wasn't bothering you right?" He added looking at me. I didn't reply and carefully made my expression neutral._

" _See you were bothering him." Yukari snarks, showing her weird ability to see through my mask. She lent over and lowered her voice, "Don't say anything about last night okay?" I nodded and she leant back with a small smile. Unfortunately Junpei has been listening in._

" _Last night?" He echoed in a shocked tone. Yukari scowled and quickly explained,_

" _He arrived last night you dimwit, we live in the same dorm-"_

" _Dang Arisato you move fast!" Yukari squeaked in indignation and started pelting Junpei with anything she could get her hands on from inside her bag, hitting him with perfect accuracy and chasing him around the classroom as he whined about how it hurt. I could've stopped them but the scene was too entertaining, even as it was cut short with Mrs. Toriumi's arrival I inwardly grinned, and judging from the smile on Yukari's face as she glanced over at me she could see the non-existent grin._

Quite an interesting guy all in all.

"Hey Arisato!" Speak of the devil. I turned in my seat to become nearly face to face with Junpei, I recoiled so fast I would've fallen out of my chair if not for Yukari -on the way to her desk- quickly keeping the chair partially upright so it didn't knock her over in the process.

"Hey Junpei." I replied letting Yukari push my chair back up before she took a seat at her desk, facing me and Junpei.

"Hi Minato, Stupei."

"Quit calling me that!" Junpei retorts, casting a mock angry glare at Yukari who wasn't fazed. "Anyway You're going to see more of me from now on Yuka-tan!" That fazed her, Yukari's milky brown eyes widened with surprise confusion or horror I couldn't tell, probably a mix of both.

"What!"

"Yeah, I've got cool stuff just like you!" I could almost tell what Yukari was thinking. Because I was thinking the same thing. ' _What's up with the amount personas unlocking this month?'_

"Wait you have a…" She lowered her voice, "A persona?"

"Yeah! Akihiko- senpei found me in the supermarket bawling like a baby when the moon turned green last night."

"Wait, you aren't moving into the dorm are you?" Yukari asked looking entirely horrified at the thought.

"Yup!" He grinned at us. I don't know if I'd be able to handle having him in the same dorm and not go insane. Judging from Yukari's next words she couldn't either.

"WHAT! You're moving into my dorm!" She shrieked before blinking and sinking down in her chair as the other students looked at her with weird looks.

"Yup, I'm moving into the S.E.E.S dorm!" He looked proud, "I get to be with you and Arisato Yuka-tan!"

"Welcome to pity town, population 1." Yukari whimpers as Junpei walked away, his walk more of a happy strut.

"Raise that to two." I muttered loud enough for her to hear.

I managed to sleep through the rest of class and Yukari was kind enough to wake me up for lunch; the rest of school was pretty much me sleeping and I walked back to the dorm with a grumpy Yukari and a cheery Junpei, Yukari's expression sour. After figuring out the Stupei- I mean Junpei epidemic is when everything got more exciting.

"I think we have enough now Mitsuru. With this force I'm sure we could start taking down Tartarus."

"Yes, I think it's doable now-"

"Wait you mean we're going back to Tartarus?!" Yukari asked a glimmer of fear in her milky brown eyes.

"Yes, but this time we have more people and stronger personas meaning we can take down that rotten place." Mitsuru replied calmly. I remembered Yukari briefly talking about Tartarus and wondered how bad it was, lucky for me Junpei voiced my question.

"How bad can it be?" He shrugged then a cocky grin slid onto his face, "I can take down everything."

"Arrogance will only lead to your demise Iori. Akihiko we start taking down tartarus tomorrow night. Takeba, lets not freeze up again alright?" Mitsuru ordered, sighing the last part with a twinkle in her eyes.

"H-Hey! That was one time! I was younger!" Yukari spluttered indignantly.

"Yes and that was a spectacular freeze-up Yuka-tan." Akihiko grinned, Yukari's face was getting redder with both embarrassment and annoyance.

"I won't freeze up this time alright?! I swear I won't freeze up!" She snapped, her face a magnificent shade of red that I have never seen on a person's face before. "I know what I'm facing now!" I could tell Mitsuru and Akihiko were done teasing her as their expressions turned back to serious, the teasing glint gone and Akihiko reached for a silver case that was lying at the foot of his chair. Then Junpei just had to make it worse.

"Wait Yuka-tan froze up?" He laughed, "She's froze up at seeing tartarus? This is hilarious! Yukari the fiesty is afraid of Tartarus! She froze at the sight of a shadow's nest? Where'd your courage go Yuka-tan?" He playfully taunted. I inwardly winced, that was an unfair under the belt comment, even if it was meant innocently and playfully that was still a big blow to the pink clad girl's pride. Huffing out her cheeks Yukari glowered at Junpei, if looks could kill he'd would be dead a thousand times over. I'd have to get lessons from her on how to glare like that; that glare was deadly, and made the shorter hot tempered girl seem many times more intimidating.

"Yes I froze up!"

"Wow wasn't expecting that-"

"Because I was twelve years old when I was first introduced to Tartarus!" ' _Wait twelve? She didn't mention that at all.'_ I thought fleetingly as Yukari cut him off, standing up and striding angrily over to the baseball capped persona user. I watched with a hint of dread, even I knew a woman scorned was extremely dangerous, harping on their insecurities? Now that was asking for a death wish. "Yes I froze up and was terrified!" She snarled furiously, "You were reduced to crying when you found out about the dark hour a few days ago!" Junpei opened his mouth to retort but quickly snapped it shut at the glare she was giving him. I really needed to name that glare of hers, it should be famous for the power behind that thing. "I was twelve, just a kid so of course I froze up! Don't you dare say I don't have any courage!"

Junpei cringed in his seat, leaning back as far as he could realizing he'd made a mistake and wished to flee the scene. Yukari kept up her death glare before slapping him and returning to her seat, absolutely fuming. Akihiko coughed in his hand before looking at me and putting the silver case on the coffee table, "This holds your evoker and S.E.E.S arm band," He opened the case revealing a tan holster -just like Yukari's- with a silver evoker nestled inside along with a red armband next to it.

"Sweet!" Junpei grinned, completely disregarding his swelling hand print imprinted cheek as he learnt forward to pick up the evoker. Mitsuru slapped his hand away as she set down another case and slid the identical case across the coffee table to him,

"This is yours Iori, it has an evoker and an armband. Everyone needs to make sure they have their evokers on once they arrive back to the dorm tomorrow. Tartarus' destruction begins."

 _AN: So ends another Chappie! Their first Tartarus mission will be next chapter! I don't have anything against Junpei, he's actually a really cool character, he does seem a bit more hostile for reasons that will be revealed later in the form of a memory chapter. Because the beginning in all or mostly in Minato's view a lot of things are missing, hence a few memory chapters just for your enjoyment :)_

 _ **IMPORTANT: I edited last chapter so Yukari explains to him what tartarus is and about the whole normal humans not knowing about the dark hour thing! Please make sure you re-read that part of the chapter! It's important and it makes sure the story makes sense!**_

 _Questions For Cookies:_

 _How old was Yukari when she was first introduced to Tartarus?_

 _What did Minato agree with Yukari about involving Junpei moving into the dorm?_


	4. Tartarus and The Reaper

' _ **Bold and Italics' = Mental link communication**_

' _Italics' = normal thoughts_

 _~Squiggly and Italics~ = Fuuka and others communicating through her persona's telepathic abilities_

"Normal" = Normal talking

" **Bold" = Mitsuru and others through her persona's telepathic skills**

"Underline" = Shadow's speaking

Answers:

 _Yukari was twelve years old when she was first introduced to Tartarus,_

 _Minato agreed with her comment about welcome to pity town and asked her to increase the population to two._

 _AN Thank you all the people who are following and favoriting Connected Forever, it means a lot to me! :) Cookies for all! (::) (::) (::) (::)_

"How come these weapons work when normal ones don't?" Junpei asked as he swung his katana like a baseball bat, causing Yukari to duck to avoid her head being taken off.

"Stupei!" Junpei ignored her and kept swinging his katana.

" **These weapons were created by the Kijiro laboratory, you should be able to take down weaker shadows with just these,"** Mitsuru spoke throughout our heads. It was a really weird experience but I was too busy focusing on the short sword in my grip, balanced perfectly made from some kind of silver with a leather grip the sword reminded me of the sword I used to use for kendo at my old school.

"Can we get going?" I heard Yukari ask from her ducked position under Junpei's swinging katana, "I don't know about you two but I want to get this over as soon as I can. Tartarus isn't a fun place."

"Whatever Yuka-tan, obviously Tartarus is the best place ever if we get to use weapons there!"

Yukari just huffed and waited for her question to be answered.

" **It's almost midnight Takeba, just a few more seconds."**

"Okay, be ready you two," Yukari mumbled, she was still ducking under Junpei's swings probably worried if she stood she'd get her head taken off.

"Junpei, stop swinging your katana, you're going to chop up Yukari," I muttered my attention fixed on the high school. From the information Yukari told me, the high school was what turned into Tartarus, it wasn't an invisible building like Junpei believed. I wasn't a super big fan of war but after what happened with my parents I knew the shadows were responsible and I needed to protect those standing beside me. Yukari especially, her weapon was a bow, a long range weapon which wasn't good for up close battling.

Before my eyes, I saw the school twist and almost mutant, forming a huge creepy looking tower, almost completely black with an almost block-like segments and random pillars sticking out. The green glow of the moon cast a green tint all over the creepy tower. A sense of fear trickled down my spine and I understood why Yukari froze up as a twelve-year-old kid, this place was not meant for kids or adults alike, this place could kill us all.

" **Iori, Arisato; Welcome to Tartarus, home of the shadows."**

"This place is way creepier that I thought," Junpei says lowering his sword to look at the creepy tower with a dropped jaw

"I told you this place was creepy, let's get this over w-with." Yukari mutters, walking towards the crazy place, looking nervous and creeped out. I followed at her heels, Junpei right behind us. We entered the Tartarus lobby which was an eery blue color with a weird elevator looking device, a huge set of glowing stairs, and a curious blue door hidden along a wall. For a creepy shadow filled tower, the lobby wasn't too bad.

" **Try to take the first floor tonight, I can't see the inside of Tartarus too well."**

"Why couldn't we have scouts?" I asked bluntly, curious about her answer.

" **Because Tartarus changes every night so it's important to have an outside source. I will guide you through while Akihiko makes sure I won't be attacked."**

"It's really cool hearing you in our heads," Junpei commented lifting his sword as we started moving towards the stairs.

" **It's my persona's special ability. Remember, use your weapons to defeat most of the shadows. Personas are our trump cards so use then wisely and with strategy."**

"I heard you loud and clear Senpai," Yukari responded, raising her bow, an arrow held in the other hand.

"Understood," I said simply, raising my short sword and making sure my evoker was handy.

"Gotcha, now let's go!" Junpei raced up the staircase without warning, letting out a battle cry. I bolted after him without reserve, he was going to get himself and us killed.

"Stupei! Get back here!" Yukari hissed and chased after him, right behind me. "Watch out!" She warned and I heard the whistling of an arrow past my right ear. An arrow sprouted from a shadow's mask coming towards me and it exploded, splattering all of us with its black goo like blood. I meanwhile, jumped the last step and sprinted towards Junpei, slicing up shadows as fast as I could while wading closer to Junpei. At his shout, I was knocked backward and skidded to a stop.

"Hermes!" He shouted. I heard the sound of a gunshot and a persona emerged, knocking me and the other shadows back. Hearing Yukari's loud suggestion,

"Let's attack them all at once!" I nodded and lunged towards the remaining shadows, Junpei mirroring my moves; out of the corner of my eye, I noticed with a small start that Yukari was wielding two blade-like arrows as short range weapons. After the short bloodbath, we stopped, panting slightly, covered in shadow goo from head to toe, it was splattered on our faces, clothes, hands, and even our hair.

"Woo hoo! That was awesome!" Junpei shouted gleefully the black goo on his face streaked like war paint. "That was fun!"

"Sure whatever Junpei," Yukari muttered, putting the two arrows back into her quiver, an uneasy look on her face, black goo streaked throughout her brown hair and streaked all over her face from where she tried rubbing it off.

"It's can't be over yet." I inputted. Fighting my first shadow with Yukari was twelve times harder than this multitude of weaklings. Flicking my head slightly I managed to get off most of the goo -sticking to and slowly falling down- my fringe, saving my eyes from getting the gunk in it.

"This was way too easy. The shadow that nearly killed Minato was I was a lot stronger and probably eight times bigger?" Yukari commented in a confused tone, "Senpai? Sense anything?" No response. "Senpai? Drat."  
"What's wrong Yuka-tan?"

"Mitsuru's being attacked. Akihiko will handle it, r-right now we need to find that last s-shadow to unlock the next floor." Yukari replied, not looking super thrilled or confident in her own words.

"I agree with your plan Yukari, if we defeat this shadow in a hurry we can go see if they need help, sound good?" I suggested to the two, Yukari looked relieved I agreed while Junpei just grinned and sprinted off, leaving us to chase him once again. And of course, he managed to get himself into more trouble. But this time, it was a good thing. The shadow looming over Junpei was of similar size to the shadow Yukari and I fought before, meaning this was the shadow we needed to destroy. The shadow had silver drills for arms, it's body was a silvery metallic color, a humanoid shaped body, with tank treads for legs. Its mask was orange and yellow, a weakness to fire.

"I do short range and distract it. You think you can shoot an arrow through its eye at an angle?" I asked Yukari, a plan quickly forming in my mind.

"Course!" She replied, lifting her bow, "I'll shoot when it's in a good position."

"Good, can you shoot two arrows at once?"

"Um yes, with more difficulty but yes."

"Alright, shoot the shadow through the eyes as I distract it from Junpei and move it into position."

"What're you going to do next?"

"Improvise," I responded, running towards the shadow, feeling Yukari's wide-eyed look on my back. Slashing the shadow's back with my weapon I drew its attention cutting deep gashes into its humanoid body. I dodged its attacks, slowly leading it towards a wall at an angle from Yukari, keeping her out of its line of sight. I heard a twang then a clink and two arrows sprouted from the eye holes of the mask, burying themselves so deep that I could only see the tips of the feathered shafts. I was inwardly surprised she could have pulled off that kind of shot but I needed to focus.

Pulling out my evoker I pulled the trigger once the barrel was level with my temple and Orpheus emerged. "Orpheus, we need a bit of a fireball." My persona obeyed, enveloping the entire shadow in the fire, another evoker shot and Junpei's persona Hermes helped out adding to the fire bath. I opened my mouth to tell Yukari to shoot a few more arrows but two twangs later and two other sets of arrows sprouted from the shadow's eyes. The shadow howled and wailed in pain as its temperature rose and arrows buried deeply into its head. After another moment the shadow glowed red then burst, splattering goo all over the walls, floor, our personas, and even us.

"Nice plan Minato." Junpei grinned looking smug, "It wasn't even a problem for us!" Then fire licked its way around us, forming a circle in the wide hallway. Mitsuru's voice flickered through, barely audible in some areas.

" **Reaper… You guys are close to the Reaper…"** Yukari's face drained of all color behind the black goo smeared over her face.

"T-the R-reaper?" The lights went out and the fire vanished. "Hold on you guys! It'll try to trick us all! Don't p-panic!" Judging from her voice she was nervous. I felt a small hand enclasp mine and heard Yukari step closer to me her breathing closer. So was Junpei's for that matter, Yukari between us. I raised my sword with my free hand, temporarily ignoring the warm hand clasped in mine.

"Yukari, information on the Reaper? He's obviously a crazy guy." I said taking a tentative step forward before she stopped me, yanking me back before I could tumble down into a random hole.

"The Reaper is a guy you don't want to meet until you get more training, I've only met him once and it wasn't a pleasant experience, right now lets try to sneak away. Junpei doesn't move, there's a spike trap in front and behind you." I squinted trying to see what Yukari had spotted.

"What?" Then Junpei let out a sharp yelp, "Ow! Spiky object!" Something clicked in my head. Yukari's persona wielded air and blessed her user with some of her qualities and skills she'd need, meaning Yukari could sense air currents and her sight was as perfect as you could get.

"Perfect," I said out loud, a small smirk spread across my face.

"What's so perfect?" Junpei asked angrily, "I just got stabbed by a spike and you say perfect?!"

"Calm down Stupei, I'm sure-"

"It's not you Junpei. Yukari you can see what's near us right?"

"Yeah, about ten feet in front of us, why?"

"You're our ticket to getting out of here. Until Junpei and I's night vision kick in we're sitting ducks, for now, you're our guide."

"Oh ok, I see what you're getting at. Junpei, jump as far in front of you as you can." Yukari said, I felt confidence animating from her, she was in her zone. "Minato," She released my hand, "There's a very large pit trap in front of us, about nine feet long four feet wide." I racked my brain on what to do as I heard Junpei jumped past the spikes and Yukari continue giving him directions to advance forward.

"Do you have any string?" I asked her, searching my pockets for any string."

"I have an extra bow string if that'll work."

"Perfect. Hand me that and an arrow will you?" She handed me the items and I clumsily tied the bow string to the arrow. Yukari's bow was a compound meaning the string was quite long. Handing her the now grapple arrow I explained. "Find a niche in the wall or anywhere sturdy that you can shoot the arrow into so so we can swing across the pit. How far is Junpei?"

"He's at the edge of my vision, my night vision hasn't kicked in either." I heard a twang and Yukari put the end of the rope into my hands. I tugged on it and started swinging, hearing Yukari weave her way around other obstacles telling Junpei where to go. I could see the faint outlines of large objects by now. Halfway through the giant swing, I felt the string start to snap.

"Junpei, there's a hidden noose to your right three- Minato!" The string snapped and I fell. Rather than falling into the pit I felt a smaller body crash into mine causing me to slide on my side on the tile, sliding to a stop next to large spike I would've been skewered on. I heard Junpei yelp as he misjudged the noose and was yanked up into the air by the ankle.

"Yukari? Answer me." I said, squinting looking around for the pink-clad girl.

"Here," I heard her voice echo.

"Where?" I got to my feet squinting, the edge of the pit trap finally focusing on my vision.

"Look in the pit." I did as she said and peered down into the dark pit, my attention focusing on the faint outline of a pink-clad girl hanging on the wall of it.

"How come you didn't let me fall?"

"There's a huge s-sea of s-spikes down here."

"Oh."

"Yeah oh. Go h-help Junpei, I'll get out of h-here once of my heart stops r-racing." I obeyed her request, pulling out my short sword and carefully stepping over to Junpei before carefully cutting through the rope so he didn't land on his head. Yukari's head popped up at the pit fall and I went over hauling her out. The three of us caught our breath for a moment before Yukari asked a good question. "We've cleared the obstacles, what's next Minato?"

"Well-"

"Wait why not ask me?" Junpei interrupted indignantly.

"Because, Stupei, he already has a plan."

"As I was saying, Yukari you can sense air currents, if we go towards a wind like current we should find a way out."

"I agree with that plan, but we have to put in the chance of the Reaper… Speaking of R-reaper! R-run!" Yukari shouted and we scattered as fire engulfed the area we'd just been in. I felt something collide with my head and I blacked out, hearing a thump nearby.

"A Wild Card? Well, this sure is unusual." I opened my eyes with a pained groan and saw I was in a large golden room with a huge black cloaked figure looking at me, black and red bloodthirsty eyes. I noticed Junpei propped against the opposite wall, bound and gagged. ' _Where's Yukari?"_ This was turning into a crazy adventure for my first mission in Tartarus.

"Sadly I couldn't catch that pesky Archer, I never do, she always escapes me. Luckily I can still feed. On a Wild Card no less!"

"I'm nobody's food Reaper," I growl, not appreciate being talked to as if I was a delicious dinner.

"Today you are mine, and I will turn you into a lovely shake. With the power of a Wildcard, I can finally leave this blasted place!"

I struggled in my bonds, I needed to get free. Being tied to a large white cross wasn't easy to escape from. Hopefully, Yukari would arrive sometime in the near future and save me and Junpei.

"Hey! R-reaper! L-leave them alone!" ' _Speak of the devil!'_

"Curses!" A black wind and Junpei was tied to another cross beside me. "Hello, again you pesky archer!"

Yukari obviously wasn't in the mood for chit-chat, her cardigan was torn slightly, her cheek cut open, and she looked worse for wear. "Give me my friends back." She barked, keeping her bow lowered, an arrow already notched and ready to be fired.

"Nuh uh uh. " The Reaper cackled, "I want to play a game, and you will play it with me young Unique Card."

"What's your stupid game?"

"Choose one of them. Who do you favor over the other? This is the game I wish to play."

Yukari's jaw dropped and she stared at him dumbly, "Which one of them do I favor? I don't know, they're both my friends."

I looked around as she and the Reaper argued. A chandelier on the roof caught my eye. ' _Perfect for dropping on his head.'_ I stared blankly at Yukari who was also thinking, her brown eyes torn and full of turmoil. She caught my eye and I glanced up before focusing on her and the Reaper. "What's so special about being a Wild Card?" I asked the shadow, mostly out of curiosity while Yukari developed a plan.

"A wild Card can wield multiple personas, but in my case feeding off a wild card will increase my power by a tenfold! The Wild Card's only equal is rarer than themselves, a Unique Card!"

"You called Yukari that before, what's a Unique card?" I asked, watching Yukari straighten up, a plan formed clearly in her mind. I could tell she made her choice.

"A unique Card has the capability to be revived by a mental connection and has more abilities from their persona than most do." The reaper said smugly like he was proud to know the answers to my questions. My time for stalling was up, Yukari was ready and we needed to get out of here before Tartarus turned back into the Gekkoukan school.

"Reaper, I've made my choice. I choose Minato Arisato, the Wild Card."

"Well as disappointing that is I obey my word." Black wind surrounded me and suddenly I was on my feet. "But it means I get to feed on him!" The black cloaked Reaper cackled lunging towards Junpei. A twang and a crash then the chandelier crashed down on the Reaper's head, followed with a yell of, "Orpheus!" From myself and fire fusing the shards together into a small cage. I broke Junpei free, Yukari asked him if he was ok, but he ignored her and I led the way out of the room, the Reaper cursing Yukari with every word I'd ever heard and then some. Finally, we escaped down the stairs and into the lobby where Mitsuru and Akihiko were pacing, Akihiko pacing while Mitsuru kept checking the scanners.

"Can we go home now?" Yukari asked warily and the two Senpais nodded, relieved looks in their eyes. On the way back to the dorm Junpei was giving Yukari the cold shoulder which was soon forgotten as Mitsuru suggested sushi as a later night snack. As everyone crowded around the coffee table in the lounge I wondered if Yukari's decision between me and Junpei would have long after effects.

I looked at the baseball-capped man as he told the two senpai's exaggerated stories about our adventure before glancing at the sleeping Yukari who was tucked into an armchair, brown fringe covering her eyes, head leaned back against the back of the armchair. I didn't want to cause a rift between them, it would make everyone miserable, hopefully Junpei would see reason in her decision and wouldn't take it personally, but deep in my gut, I knew he took her choice personal and was going to punish her for what was the wrong decision in his opinion.

Disregarding those thoughts I started shoveling sushi down my throat, having worked up an appetite trying not to get killed in Tartarus. Even Mitsuru's warning of we would encounter the Reaper again later wasn't enough to stop my laughter as Junpei tickled Yukari's nose making the sleeping girl smack herself in the face and wake her up only to smear the whipped cream all over her face as she scratched her nose in sleep ridden confusion and rubbed her face trying to wake up all the way.

 _AN: Action chapters are probably going to be longer than normal no action chapters because I try to put in details and keep the readers interested! :)_

Questions for Cookies:

 _Who's the Reaper?  
Why is Junpei so angry at Yukari by the end of the Chapter?_


	5. Yukari's Persona and Boring Developments

' _ **Bold and Italics' = Mental link communication**_

' _Italics' = normal thoughts_

 _~Squiggly and Italics~ = Fuuka and others communicating through her persona's telepathic abilities_

"Normal" = Normal talking

" **Bold" = Mitsuru and others through her persona's telepathic skills**

"Underline" = Shadow's speaking

Answers:

 _The Reaper is a really annoying shadow bent on feeding on a wild card (he's a bit altered in this version)_

 _Junpei is angry because Yukari chose Minato over him._

* * *

 _ **I'm so sorry guys! :( I haven't updated this story in FOREVER! I could give you all a bunch of excuses but I won't, I haven't updated because my brain went flat and couldn't come up with anything, but I did finally! :D and I'm trying to update this story along with a few others consistently, so hopefully, the hiatus is over! :D**_

* * *

Despite how much I'd like to say that the next two weeks were highly entertaining and very interesting, they weren't. School was a bore that I preferred to sleep through, although the frequent arguments between Yukari and Junpei were highly entertaining…

* * *

" _Hey, Arisato!" Junpei jogged over and perched himself comfortably on my desktop, "what's up?"_

 _I gave him a blank look, exhaustion from another Tartarus mission yesterday was making my mind all warm and fuzzy, minus the warm part which actually would've been nice. I could probably sleep sitting up straight if I was honest with myself, so partly because I was exhausted and partly because he was sitting on my desk, I chose not to reply and instead just stared tiredly at him with a blank stare that could have disturbed him a little._

" _Dude!" Junpei chortled, his grayish eyes gleaming with laughter at his friend's best, 'I'm so tired I'm a zombie' impression. "you look like the dead!"_

" _If he's that tired then leave him alone, Stupei," Yukari huffed as she moved around Junpei toward her seat, "that place isn't a walk in the park you know."_

 _For a moment, Junpei seemed to think about what she said as if trying to understand what place she was referring too before scowling, and I guessed that he was remembering the issue with the reaper that he was still sore over._

 _My assumption seemed to be correct when a moment later he pouted while casually swinging his legs and accidentally knocked his foot against Yukari's ankle, the one that had ended up sprained from the latest Tartarus trip. "Stop calling me Stupei! You know it gets on my nerves!"_

 _Yukari yelped and flailed her arms as her ankle gave out underneath her and she narrowly avoided smacking her head on her desk as she crashed down to the floor, her shoulder clipping her desk chair in the process._

 _I inwardly winced, ouch, that was going to hurt. I knew exactly how much the archer's arms ached because my own were just as bad. Weidling a one handed sword and slicing through shadows made my arms feel like jelly after a Tartarus mission, not that anyone else could tell. But pulling back on a bow required more strength and despite how long I had guessed she had been wielding a bow, Tartarus missions were hard and tired out everyone, including the archer._

" _Stupei!" Yukari snapped as she pushed herself to her feet, managed to sit down in her chair, and glared The Takeba Murder Glare. Yes, I named her glare, after all, if glare could kill, hers would kill everyone in the room._

 _Junpei flinched, "sorry!" He apologized quickly, clearly rethinking his decision of discreetly getting back at her, and slid off my desk before racing off to his own._

 _Meanwhile, Yukari rummaged through her bag and pulled out an eraser. Of which she chucked at Junpei's head with enough force that it left a red mark the shape of the eraser and knocked his hat off of his head._

" _Mama!" Junpei yelped and tentatively felt for his hat which wasn't on top of his head anymore._

Besides the conflicts between Yukari and Junpei however, school was rather boring and I had a tendency to sleep through my classes. Although Yukari kindly woke me up between classes and for lunch, probably making sure that I wasn't going to waste away with all of the Tartarus work we had been doing lately, although no doubt she was just as tired as I was nearly twenty-four hours a day, twenty-four because the adrenaline kept us all awake and alert during the Dark Hour.

Mitsuru had anointed me as field leader -I decision that I can't seem to make my mind up about whether it's good or bad- and we found out about some of our persona's weaknesses. Yukari was very vulnerable to electricity, as we found out when Akihiko's lightning was reflected and caught her unawares; Junpei was vulnerable to wind, which we found out by him jumping in front of Yukari's attack; Mitsuru was weak to fire, despite how much she tried to hide it; and we weren't sure what Akihiko was weak to, but Junpei and I guessed ice with how he steered clear of Mitsuru's persona. Although Yukari insisted that he did that out of respect and bad memories, what bad memories she wouldn't tell us. But it wasn't all bad, we found out strengths as well, like how Junpei wasn't at all affected by fire and how Yukari could supercharge her arrows with wind.

When I wasn't snoring my way through school and slaughtering shadows, which was usually every weekday, I was talking to a girl online who's name was Maya, although I can't say that I prefer her over everyone else. But something had been bothering me since our conflict with the Reaper, Yukari never summoned her persona. At first I thought it was because she hadn't needed to use it on the reaper, but over the past few weeks, and despite the fact that we go to Tartarus almost every other night, I haven't ever seen her persona that she calls Io, ever. Yukari attacked with a barrage of arrows and healed us whenever we were hurt -which was often- but I never saw her persona, and it made me wonder if something was wrong with her persona. The absence of her evoker all raised questions in my mind, more often than not, she would forget her evoker back at the dorm or not touch the silver weapon from where it was snuggly holstered at her right thigh. When she healed us all her hands would glow a light baby pink, and I didn't understand how she could use her persona's power like that, using its abilities despite it being deep in her psyche. Mitsuru reassured me many times that it was normal for Yukari, but it made me an apprehensive. _How can I expect her to use her persona for us and watch our backs when she doesn't ever use it?_

* * *

Speaking of Tartarus… "Yukari! Can you get a clean shot?" I asked as I rolled out of the large shadow's way as it crushed the floor where I had been standing a few seconds ago.

"I think so!" Yukari replied quickly and dodged another shadow's blade before she notched two arrows and pulled back on her bow before she released the string with a twang. Black goo emerged from the shadow's masked face as it wailed at the pink feathered arrows so lodged inside its face before it started to flail around, full of pain and unable to see a thing.

"Junpei move!" I shouted when I noticed how the flailing Shadow was on a collision course with my best friend.

Junpei yelped and put his evoker to his skull, calling Hermes to help him. "Hermes!" He then watched in horror as the shadow cut through his persona like butter and howled when the phantom pain set in. No doubt he had the worst stomachache in the world with that kind of hit to his persona.

"Junpei!" Yukari tackled the boy her age down to the floor and the shadow's blade caught a small amount of her light brown hair. "Darn it!" She cursed before shoving Junpei again and narrowly avoiding being skewered. "Move it Junpei!"

Junpei was staring in shock at the slightly shorter length of Yukari's brown hair as if it just occurred to him that this was real and that it wasn't a game.

"Gar!" I growled and put my evoker to my head, "Orpheus!" The patron of strings emerged and slammed his lyre down on top of the shadow's head, giving it a thorough brain-ache that it undoubtedly didn't enjoy as Orpheus kept smashing it down to the floor. How could I tell? The shadow was making some really annoyed and unhappy wails. I suddenly winced, _Ouch, I forgot that it also has arrows in its skull… Oh well. Wait, do shadows even feel pain?_

"Takeba, get Iori out of harm's way!" Mitsuru quickly directed while I was busy thinking about how much pain the shadow was in. Yukari did as she asked, pulling the other teen out of danger, her now neck length light brown hair was consistently getting in her face.

"Penthesilea!" Mitsuru pointed her evoker to her temple and pressed the trigger. The Amazonian Queen emerged from Mitsuru's psyche and promptly stabbed its rapier into the floor flattened shadow before it was enveloped in ice and burst into black goo.

 _One down, one to go._ I thought as Orpheus disappeared back in my psyche. With a duck that I felt the Shadow's blade barely skim the air above my head, I scooped up my fallen sword and rushed the remaining large shadow, after this, we could return to our dorm and sleep. Until school started in the morning anyway.

"Minato! Look out!" I heard Yukari's warning shout and felt arrows go so close to my neck on both sides that I could feel the breeze as they flew past me to sink into the shadow's eyes, leaving it as blind as it's previous companion. _Serves you right_ I thought moodily at the shadow that had nearly eaten me alive while I was slightly distracted. Shaking any more thoughts from my head with a small shake, I then summoned Orpheus and proceeded to smash the shadow into the floor once more, this time just to see if I could break through the floor with the force of Orpheus's attacks.

In hindsight, I should've been more aware of what's going on as I didn't notice a shadow that was smaller than the others moving quickly toward me. But I'm kinda glad I wasn't because I finally met Yukari's persona.

"Io!" Yukari shouted and I heard the sound of an evoker going off with a bang, a moment later wind rushed past my clothes and the floor shook as the two shadows were slammed into a nearby wall where they stayed dazed and confused.

I looked behind me to see Yukari holstering her evoker and drawing her bow, a glazed look in her milky brown eyes as something close to pain flickered across her gaze.

"Come on!" Junpei whooped and charged at the two shadows, seeming to be fully recharged and ready to fight. Mitsuru and Akihiko were doing the same from their positions, Mitsuru's rapier drawn and held in front of her confidently, Akihiko's fists were raised. I briefly watched Yukari for another moment before jumping in and joining in on the all out attack, of which Yukari herself joined us a moment later.

* * *

I followed the two senpais as we all walked back toward the dorm, it was almost quiet, the only sounds were Junpei excitedly recapping everything that happened, apparently he was impressed by Yukari's persona and the strength it possessed behind its attack.

"That was awesome Yuka-tan!" Junpei spoke excitedly, "you should totally do that more often!"

Yukari didn't say anything, her gaze was turned toward the ground as she lagged behind a little, her brown eyes spaced out, she was thinking about something, and that something was bothering her.

"Yukari," I spoke and almost flinched when she jumped at the sound of her name and nearly hit me with her bow. "Are you alright?"

Yukari looked at me for a moment, seeming to be deciding if she could trust me or not. Apparently, she decided she couldn't and responded with a yes. "Yeah, I'm all good!" She smiled, but the smile didn't reach her milky brown eyes, and for some reason, it bothered me, and not because I owed her a debt.


End file.
